Colorado Rockies / MLB

Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga still a big hit in Denver

Todd Helton rounds into third base after hitting a go-ahead solo home run off of Dodgers starting pitcher Matt Magill on Sunday. More photos. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

El Gato Grande still brings fans to their feet.

His hair is a distinguished silver now and The Big Cat's waistline has gotten bigger, but Andres Galarraga's smile still lights up a ballpark.

Galarraga, 51, lives in West Palm Beach, Fla. He hadn't been in Denver since his induction into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. But when he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Rockies-Dodgers game Sunday, he received a standing ovation. It was like 1993 all over again.

"Oh, my God. This is exciting, man," Galarraga said. "There are no words to describe it. I feel like I'm home and I feel like a visitor, sweating. ... Probably the best five years in my career were in Colorado. I played for the fans, 60,000 people, every day, every game. That's amazing."

The first 20,000 fans to Sunday's game at Coors Field received a Big Cat bobblehead doll as part of the Rockies' 20th anniversary celebration. Sure, compared with the Red Sox, Yankees or Dodgers, Rockies history is limited. But Galarraga — like Dante Bichette, Walt Weiss and Vinny Castilla — infused the club with potent personality in those early years.

Galarraga, still a legend in his native Venezuela, was an immediate hit with the original Rockies, winning the 1993 National League batting title with a .370 average. He starred for Colorado through the 1997 season, supercharging the Blake Street Bombers with a .316 batting average, 172 homers and 579 RBIs in his five seasons in Denver. He was the Rockies' first all-star and has the only six-hit game in team history.

In 1997, Galarraga launched one of the memorable blasts in franchise history. In Miami, against Florida Marlins ace Kevin Brown, Galarraga hit a 529-foot grand slam that remains the longest homer in Rockies history.

"I'll tell you, that was special, especially against Kevin Brown, bases loaded," the Big Cat recalled with a big grin. "There were a lot of people from Venezuela in Miami. So that was so special. That was 579 feet, longest home run ever. They changed it down to 529, maybe because of Mickey Mantle, I don't know."

Betancourt update. Rafael Betancourt didn't want to go on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin, but Rockies trainer Keith Dugger and manager Weiss convinced him the move was best for himself and the team.

"At the end of the day, when I pitched, it was very sore," Betancourt said Sunday morning, adding that the injury was interfering with his strict, everyday routine. "When you come here, you have to prepare yourself to pitch. But I was coming here and I was spending so much time to get ready, just working on my leg, that I didn't have the right (amount of) time to prepare. I was getting very tired. It was hard to try to do both. I started to feel like I wasn't helping the team."

Why Corpas? Manuel Corpas, the Rockies' closer during their 2007 World Series season, was a bit of a surprise choice to get called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He was, after all, 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA.

But Rockies assistant general manager Bill Geivett said Corpas has been throwing well lately.

Corpas, 31, has been working since spring training trying to develop a more effective slider.

"Every year you find a change, and this year I changed my grip on my slider," Corpas said. "I thought, 'I have to start working on my slider.' They told me I didn't need to work on my fastball or velocity, but that I needed to work on my slider."

Corpas was a multiple-innings reliever for the Sky Sox and will have a similar role with the Rockies.

Rockies relief pitcher John Axford, who hasn't pitched for the team since last Wednesday, was forced to leave spring training camp after his 2-year-old son was bit by a rattlesnake twice in his right foot.

One-day event to run slide down University HillIt's not quite the alternative mode of transportation that Boulder's used to, but, for one day this summer, residents will be able to traverse several city blocks atop inflatable tubes.

DETROIT (AP) — In a story March 27 about a 'Little Syria' exhibit going to Ellis Island, The Associated Press, due to incorrect information from the Arab American National Museum, erroneously reported the date the exhibit will open. Full Story